Internet Addiction Based on Personality Characteristics in Medical Students

Abstract

Background: The Internet has become a fundamental part of modern life, it has given rise to various problematic behaviors. Some of these behaviors, such as prolific use of social media, frequent email checking, excessive online gaming, online buying and gambling, and viewing pornography cause significant impairment in everyday functioning of some individuals. Different researchers studied psychological aspects like impulsive compulsive spectrum, anxiety and depression in internet addicts. Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between internet addictions and different aspects of personality in medical students. Methods: In this cross, sectional study the purpose was to assess all 687medical students of medical faculty of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. 364 students showed their contention for participating in the study by filling the consent form. Finally 278 valid questionnaires were collected. They responded to the demographic questions in the questionnaire such as age, sex, marital status, student accommodation, entrance year to university, student residence place and also internet addiction test was performed and NEO five-factor inventory short form (NEO-FFI) was filled. Results: 55% of participants show internet addiction, with distribution of 51.4% mild, 2.9% moderate and 0.4% severe addiction. Internet addiction and personality traits of extraversion (The correlation coefficient =-0.118, P = 0.05), agreeableness (The correlation coefficient =-0.379, P = 0.001) and conscientiousness (The correlation coefficient =-0.21, P = 0.001), showed significant negative correlation, but its correlation with neuroticism (The correlation coefficient = +0.2, P = 0.001) was significantly positive. Internet addiction scores among students in semester five and eleven prior to the comprehensive basic science test (26.52 ± 9.8) and comprehensive pre-internship test (28.57 ± 19.2) were higher than the other academic years. Conclusions: The prevalence of Internet addiction in this study was higher compared to similar studies in other fields which led to the concerns regarding the extent of the problem. More internet addiction among students in 4th and 10th semester reveals the need for being efficiently trained in order to deal with stress in critical condition and also to maintain positive academic performance. Correlation of some aspects of personality traits with internet addiction, suggested initial assessment of medical students' personality by screening tools and identification of populations at risk. This may prove a need for favorable methods for initiation of prevention.

A Discriminant Analysis to Predict the Impact of Personality Traits, Self-esteem, and Time Spent Online on Different Levels of Internet Addiction Risk among University Students

“…The classification of Internet addiction as a behavioral disorder remains a controversial matter. It has been described as an individual's uncontrollable and compulsive use of the Internet, which negatively affects academic and job performances, reduces sleep and hygiene quality, and leads to reduced interpersonal social relationships (Lyvers, Karantonis, Edwards, & Thorberg, 2016;Sahraian, Hedayati, Mani, & Hedayati, 2016;Young, 2015;Zhang et al, 2015). Furthermore, the conceptual model of Internet addiction incorporates tolerance, withdrawal, relapse, salience, conflict and mood modification as the core criteria for symptoms of addictive behavior (McNicol & Thorsteinsson, 2017).…”

“…From the time Internet addiction was first described almost 20 years ago as a clinical disorder (Young, 1998), many studies -also done with university students -have subsequently been conducted on several psychological correlates (Al-Gamal, Alzayyat, & Ahmad, 2016;Burnay, Billieux, Blairy, & Larøi, 2015;Chou et al, 2015;Monacis, de Palo, Griffiths, & Sinatra, 2017). On the other hand, other studies have focused, in relation to Internet addiction, on the following topics: personality traits and other risk factors (Kayiş et al, 2016;Li et al, 2017;Öztürk, Bektas, Ayar, Özgüven Öztornacı, & Yağcı, 2015;Sahraian et al, 2016;Servidio, 2014); and overweight socially stigmatized adolescents (Gentile, Servidio, Caci, & Boca, 2018).…”

Personality does not Determine Internet Addiction: A Meta-Analysis

“…Agreeableness and IA were negatively correlated, with only one study showing a positive correlation (Celik et al, 2012). However, the relationship between agreeableness and IA was not significant, even though some studies indicated that they believed the relationship to be quite significant (Olowodunoye et al, 2017;Sahraian et al, 2016;Saini et al, 2016;Stead & Bibby, 2017;Stodt et al, 2018;Zhou et al, 2017Zhou et al, , 2016.…”

“…However, the contribution of personality to IA has been the subject of considerable debate, with some research finding that personality had a meaningful relationship with IA and should be used in initial IA prevention screening (Celik, Atak, & BaŞAl, 2012;Sahraian, Hedayati, Mani, & Hedayati, 2016) and others finding the opposite. Buckner et al 2012assessed 170 employees and found that the FFM did not predict pathological Internet use; therefore, the role of personality as an IA predictive factor remains unclear.…”

Internet Addiction a Global Concern: A Cross-Sectional Appraisal amongst Imminent Medical Doctors of National Defence University of Malaysia

“…Moreover, simulation videos, PowerPoint presentations and online slides provide a more precise, unambiguous and elaborate view of the topic under study. [7][8][9][10] Despite several advantages of the internet described above, many adverse effects are becoming more apparent. These involve economic issues such as income spent on internet subscriptions, time spent on internet surfing; mental health problems like anxiety, depression, broken relationships and loss of work.…”